


Beautiful Insanity

by constantconfusion14



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternative Chat Blanc au, Angst, But also regular aged-characters, Gen, Heavy Angst, Older!Ladynoir, Themes of madness, Time Travel, descriptions of violence, mentions of child abuse (b/c Gabriel is actually the worst), platonic ladynoir
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:40:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26435812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/constantconfusion14/pseuds/constantconfusion14
Summary: Ladybug may have survived Chat Blanc's Cataclysm that destroyed the rest of the world, but her earrings did not. Left alone with the broken ladybug miraculous, Marinette is overrun by creation while her akumatized partner wreaks unmitigated destruction on what's left of the world.When Bunnix recruits a younger Ladybug and Chat Noir to repair the future, the unsuspecting duo gets a terrible glimpse at the possible reality of their future. Needless to say, neither of them are very eager to grow up anymore.
Relationships: Older!Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Older!Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir
Comments: 14
Kudos: 68





	1. Creative Insanity

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this for Ladynoir July's 'Chat Blanc' prompt but it quickly became its own monster. This piece is incredibly angsty as it's the first fic I deliberately wrote in a horror-esque style. Don't say I didn't warn you, but I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains themes of madness and an non-con kiss (but it doesn't go any further than that)

The plaza around the Eiffel Tower was empty. That should've been the first clue that something was off. 

It was completely devoid of anyone other than the three miraculous holders facing off in the final battle. Ladybug had been foolish to believe they had a chance at winning. They actually might have, until Hawkmoth revealed his identity and his motive simultaneously. 

And it broke his son. It broke him past the point of fixing. 

Ladybug was helpless as she watched the black and purple cloud consume Chat Noir. She screamed for him to fight it but his mind was shattered and weak. There was nothing either of them could do. So she stared at him, crying as his colors changed from black to white. Ladybug sobbed at the face of her boyfriend, her love, her partner of _seven years_. 

Out of all the times to come up short, why did she have to fail him this time? 

Replacing what had been a look of utter devastation was now a cruel smile. His icy blue eyes exhibited a loss of control. His claws were much longer than they had been and piercing canines extended out of his mouth. The rest of his teeth were also sharpened to points, making his smile appear more savage than sincere. 

Chat was no longer a human. Hawkmoth had turned him into an animal. 

The newest akuma on the ground in front of them tilted his head while a smile ripped its way across his face. His pupils shrank and he collapsed into a bout of laughter that resembled the cackle of hyenas. Ladybug could only stare in horror at what her partner had become. 

“Chat Blanc. I have given you the ultimate power of destruction. Now retrieve Ladybug’s earrings and help me revive your mother!” Hawkmoth screamed at his son in front of him, not phased even slightly by his change in appearance. 

In response, Chat only gripped his hair and laughed harder, screeching as he bent over and faced the ground. The sound reached into Ladybug’s chest and clawed her heart to pieces. She felt the vital organ failing inside of her as tiny shreds fell free and lost their only purpose of keeping her blood flowing. Her veins grew cold as her partner fell deeper into uncontrollable laughter. 

Finally, he pulled himself together and looked directly into the eyes of his father. “No, I don’t think I will!” The voice he spoke with was unrecognizable. It was if someone had layered the sound countless times to create the effect of a chorus speaking. Ladybug found it impossible to focus on a single voice and instead had to suffer listening to all of them at once. She felt tears begin rolling down her face as she tried to cope with everything. But now the emotions that had attacked her heart had moved on, working its way through the rest of her body. Everything was shutting down. Her mind was collapsing in on itself.

In front of her, Chat lifted one hand and created a glowing orb that continued to grow. Hawkmoth took a step back as Chat aimed it directly at him. He spoke again and Marinette cried out when she heard it. “It might’ve taken years, but you finally did it, old man. You completely broke me. Now, it’s time to return the favor.” He began chuckling maniacally again as the orb continued to expand in size.

_I need to stop this, I need to stop this, I need to stop this._

Marinette knew her time was limited. There was no way anyone could stop Chat Blanc from doing what he was about to. But maybe, just maybe, she could spare herself. Doing so would provide a second chance for Parisians once everything was cleansed. It was worth a shot. 

Ladybug lunged forward as the destructive orb exploded. She reached him just in time and held onto his neck tightly as the energy engulfed the entirety of Paris. It felt like her atoms were being ripped apart and thrust back together, over and over again. She couldn’t help but let go of another scream as she held onto her partner for dear life. 

Against her ears, she felt her miraculous heating up until that, too was exploding in a blinding light of red. Ladybug continued screaming out of absolute agony as her corrupted partner hollered beneath her as if he were simply watching standup comedy. The sound of his awful laugh continued attacking her mind as his destruction destroyed her physical body. 

The shades of cyan and red grew brighter and brighter as the laughter became louder. Ladybug did her best to hold on to whatever she had left, but it soon slipped past her fingertips and everything fell to black.

**************

“Pound it!”

Ladybug and Chat Noir celebrated yet another victory over Hawkmoth. That man never seemed to learn from his mistakes. One day, they would beat him and free the city of Paris. Unfortunately, the duo would have to take the small win for today. 

“Ladybug and Chat Noir!” Mass amounts of field reporters swarmed around the Arc de Triomphe trying desperately to get some answers out of the heroes. 

“What was the cause of today’s akuma attack?”

“Do you know why Hawkmoth is doing this?  
  
“It’s been almost two years since these attacks began, is there an end in sight?”

Ladybug sighed, these were the typical questions and she never felt like answering them. Luckily, they were reporters with creative abilities. So she’d leave them to their own devices to come up with a story given the information they already had. It might’ve made their job more difficult, but Ladybug wanted a break every once in a while. 

Her miraculous beeped against her ear. “Sorry guys, I gotta get going. Thank you all for being safe and staying away from the battle until it was over, it makes our jobs easier. Bug out!”

She turned around from the crowd as Chat winked, blew a kiss into the nearest camera and followed her lead. Once both of their backs were to the press, they moved in sync, preparing to vault/zip away from the scene. 

But something stopped them in their tracks. 

“Minibug! Kitty Noir! I need both of you, right now! In my burrow!” Bunnix had appeared from nowhere. Her face was panicked beyond anything Marinette had ever seen. When the two she was talking to failed to move at all, she rushed forward and pulled both of them through her portal, making it disappear once they were all inside. 

Marinette couldn’t help but stress out about the press witnessing what just happened, but she was too focused on the strange inside of the burrow to pay much attention. There was no visible floor, which made walking across it difficult at first. Instead, Marinette pulled her attention to the small hexagonal windows surrounding her and Chat completely. The latter spun around as he continued walking behind Bunnix, who was headed directly to a specific portal on the opposite side of the burrow. 

“What is this place?” Chat vocalized Ladybug’s thoughts for her. 

“It’s how the rabbit miraculous works. Don’t touch or look at anything. Understand?”

Chat nodded quietly. Ladybug’s earrings beeped again. “Why did you bring us here, Bunnix?” Ladybug asked the older heroine. When she did, Bunnix’s shoulders drooped and her voice deflated. 

“It’s...it’s the future. Something’s gone horribly wrong and I need you two to fix it.” She finally stopped at one window that showed a bleak, flooded version of the Paris they knew and loved. Bunnix pushed her hand against it and the picture sharpened into focus. “This is the current future.” She released an exhausted sigh. “But the Ladybug and Chat Noir from this time have been compromised. There’s an akuma - the most powerful one I’ve ever seen. I need you guys to purify it and then help the future Ladybug use her Miraculous Cure to heal the city. Please, I don’t have very many options left.”

Ladybug furrowed her eyes in concern but accepted the job no less. “We’ll do our best.”

“But-” Chat protested behind her. 

“Then step through.” Bunnix gestured towards the window, pushing against it harder this time to create an opening. The earrings flashed a final warning. 

Ladybug turned back around to Chat. “We have to try. Our duty is to protect Paris. That includes the future Paris as well.” He didn’t look convinced, but nodded anyway. She took his hand and they walked through the opening. When a third set of footsteps didn’t follow, Ladybug turned around. 

“You’re not coming?” Chat stole the words out of her mouth. 

“I’m the last chance miraculous. If you guys fail, then I’ll need to try something else. But don’t worry, I’ll be watching from my burrow the whole time.” Well that was….comforting? Marinette didn’t get the chance to decide before the blue portal disappeared and her earrings flashed their last beeps. 

She whipped around suddenly, making a tiny sound of surprise. Her back pressed up against Chat’s just as a pink light zipped up her body. Marinette held out her hands to catch Tikki as she materialized from the suit. She looked up at her chosen and noticed the cat standing behind her. Tikki looked around at her surroundings, utterly confused.

“I don’t think I have much time to explain the situation, Tikki. Bunnix brought us here, to the future. We have to figure out what caused this and set things right.” Marinette reached down and pulled a cookie out of her purse. Tikki gladly accepted the food and began eating. “I’m sorry to ask this of you, but I’m going to need to transform as soon as you’re done, okay?”

Tikki just nodded with her mouth full. 

“Chat? How are you and your kwami doing?” Marinette shifted her head slightly as she spoke. 

“All set, my lady. I didn’t have to use Cataclysm after I recharged so Plagg and I have plenty of juice left.” His voice was confident in tone, but it wavered slightly. She could tell he was insecure about something. “What do you think happened here, bug?”

Marinette looked out again, noticing the shattered moon above them for the first time. The debris seemed to be frozen in air around the crack through the center of the satellite. It was much, much closer than it should’ve been and waves lapped aggressively against the Montparnasse tower on which they stood. 

“I don’t know. But something terrible if both of our future selves couldn’t fix it.”

“Do you think we’re adults in this timeline? If adult us can’t fix whatever this is, how are we supposed to??”

Marinette stayed silent for a few moments, eventually just murmuring out “I don’t know,” as a response. 

“Whatever it is, I know you can handle it. You two were chosen for a reason, so don’t give up no matter what happens!” Tikki sent the biggest smile towards Marinette before she flitted up and kissed her on the cheek. She then swooped over to Chat and kissed him on the cheek, too. He chuckled at the affection. The tiny god quickly reappeared in front of Marinette. “I’m ready when you are!”

She quickly transformed and turned around, tapping Chat on the shoulder to let him know it was safe to look again. “Alright. Where should we sta-”

Classical music suddenly began blaring from somewhere in the tower. Already being on edge, Ladybug would’ve jumped out of her own skin had Chat not placed a reassuring hand on her arm. He raised an eyebrow at her. “How about we start here?”

**************

They had to crawl through the ductwork in order to get inside, as all the doors and windows were blocked by something that had yet to be determined. Eventually, they found an opening into the stairwell. Chat exited first in order to help Ladybug out. “Thanks,” she muttered while absentmindedly dusting herself off. 

But the dust was soon forgotten as Ladybug took in her surroundings. The stairwell looked like it had become an animated garden of some-sorts. Grass and flowers grew out of every square inch, turning what should’ve been gray metal into a vertical, sentient meadow. Vines hung down from the ceilings and the railings were wrapped in moss. Every plant seemed to move on its own and grow freely, having no limit to prevent them from doing so. 

Even stranger though, were the numerous amount of painting tacked on the wall. Really, they were all done beautifully. Whoever had painted or drawn them was a master of realism and captured images on canvas as if they were pictures. There was a drawing of Ladybug’s yoyo, Chat’s baton, a drawing of the duo, of Monuments in France and other, unrecognizable sites and people. Interestingly though, none of them were actually hung on the wall. The vines moved around as the heroes watched and secured the paintings in place, keeping them from falling. No nails required. 

“Well that’s convenient for a security deposit” Chat spoke quietly beside her. She nudged him in the ribs. 

“What even is this place?” She wondered, trying to take in everything she was seeing. 

A cymbal crash echoed through the stairwell, originating from somewhere above them. Chat pointed upwards. “Only one way to find out?”

The duo tiptoed their way up the stairs, carefully avoiding any thick patches of grass or flowers. As they moved upwards, the crashing increased as did the amount of greenery and pictures. The stylistic choices of the painting changed drastically as they continued upwards. Realism became a cartoon-ish style, which became cubism and eventually turned to splatter art. Actual art canvases also disappeared and instead the more recent paintings seemed to be made on multiple pieces of printer paper taped together. When they finally reached the door from which the music came, they stopped for a moment and took a deep breath, silently agreeing to move forward.

Ladybug pushed open the door. 

The inside of the room was like the stairwell on steroids. The walls were green with plants and flowers sprouted from everywhere. Hundreds of paintings were either ‘tacked’ on the walls or were thrown on to the ground where the vines snaked around them. There was also a considerable amount of food lying around, but not in the disgusting way. In fact, it all appeared to be freshly made. Croissants and quiches and cookies hung around the room like edible flowers, just waiting for someone to pick and enjoy them. 

The music seemed to be coming from everywhere and literally floated through the air. Translucent golden music notes drifted around the room, lighting up just slightly when their note was played. Honestly, it was breathtaking, but Ladybug was afraid at just what kind of akuma could cause something such as this to exist. 

More than anything though, there were clothes. Scattered papers of designs and half-finished projects lay everywhere. Fabric was thrown across almost every surface, some half-stitched and some only roughly cut out. Only a few pieces were complete, hanging from a vine on the ceiling. Strangely enough, the only clothes that were finished were white. No colored garments ever seemed to make it to the final stage. 

Ladybug and Chat just stood in awe for a few moments, trying to take in all that was around them. There was so much going on that it was impossible to understand any of it with a single glance. 

Before either could recover from their stupor, A figure appeared out of nowhere and jumped on Chat. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held his head tightly in her hands. “KITTY!” she screamed and then kissed him aggressively, using more tongue than Marinette had seen in any movie. Chat staggered back into the doorframe and desperately tried to push off his attacker. Marinette was glued to the scene, still recovering from the shock that someone else was in here. Just as she was about to move forward and help her partner the other figure removed herself forcefully, shoving Chat further into the doorframe. He grasped his chest and tried to steady his breathing.

The attacker growled and pouted. “Not my Kitty!” She pulled her arms across her chest and tensed her shoulders, clearly upset and defensive. Only then was Marinette able to realize who she was looking at. 

Her skin crawled. 

The woman in front of them was a little taller than Chat. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail but it was falling apart and most of her hair fell loose near the back of her neck. Baby hairs flew all around her face and the top of her head looked like it had been teased with a comb judging by all the frizz. Her stature was slightly hunched over, as if just standing was requiring all of her energy. Dirt and grime was smudged across her face. She looked worn. 

On either side of her face, her ears appeared to be red and inflamed. The closer she looked, the more Ladybug realized this woman must’ve been wearing earrings. But it was as if the earrings were almost as sentient as the plants and were growing up her ears, consuming them entirely and turning the entire sides of her face to an unnaturally vibrant ruby color. 

What was most terrifying though, was the red and black spotted suit she wore, accompanied by a red and black spotted mask. 

Ladybug was looking at herself. 

This must’ve been the Ladybug of the future. Hadn’t Bunnix said the future heroes were incapacitated? She had assumed that meant defeated, or miraculous-less. Marinette looked at the horrifying version of herself, realizing the truth was much worse. This woman was beyond incapacitated. Moss covered most of the suit, making it difficult to see the original colors. Vines wrapped around her arms and snaked their way across her neck, constantly moving like medusa’s hair.

She growled at the heroes before turning away and walking back to where she’d come from. Every step resulted in a new blooming flower. The future Ladybug finally stopped at a desk covered in plants and fabric. She pulled out a piece of paper and some paint from underneath a swatch of fleece and began covering up the white sheet with whatever color she could grab. There was no use of a brush or anything. She simply grabbed handfuls of the paint and smeared it over the paper.

Ladybug leaned over and put her hand on Chat’s shoulder. “Are you okay?” She asked. 

“I-I guess. That was just...unexpected” He straightened up and turned back to his partner. “Is that…?”

“I think so. I think that’s the future Ladybug...which is really disturbing.”

“I’ll say,” Chat said as he looked around. “Do you think we can help her?”

Ladybug stayed quiet for a moment before answering. “Something tells me no. If it were that easy, then Bunnix would’ve done it herself. We still have to defeat the akuma, but maybe she can give us some information.” Ever so slowly, Marinette took a step towards the adult figure. To her delight, the plants moved around her feet, allowing her to take easy steps. Chat, however, had to find his own foot holes as the vines refused to move for him. 

Once they were closer, Marinette called out in a calm voice and tried to make herself appear non-threatening. “Excuse me, Ladybug? We’re here to help with all of this, but we need your help first.”

The figure snapped her head up at the voice. “Happiness returned to me after great catastrophe. Happiness returned to me after great catastrophe. Great catastrophe. Catastrophe! Catastrophe!” Her voice escalated to a scream by the end of the statement. But as soon as it climaxed she fell silent again. Her head slipped back down to her painting. 

“Ohhhh kay.” Chat mumbled. 

Marinette was having a difficult time watching. This woman was _her_ in a few years. A version of her who’d almost completely lost it. Was this her future? Was she watching her fate play out in front of her? It made her nauseous. She was tempted to look around for a trash can to puke in. This couldn’t be her future, could it? There was no way she’d end up like this...was there?

“Hey, LB - do you mind if I call you LB? I’m going to get confused with two Ladybug’s.” Chat spoke up in a terrible attempt to appear confident in the current situation. The woman looked at him and maintained eye contact as she picked up her painting, dripping wet with paint. She threw it over her shoulder and it _shloped_ on the ground, paint-side down. The vines immediately began snaking around the space rather than over it. Then LB giggled and pulled out another piece of paper. 

“What happened here?” Ladybug whispered to her partner. Chat opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off. 

LB suddenly began limping towards them in an unnaturally fast manner. She was standing directly in front of them within seconds. “CREATION!” she screamed. She grabbed one of each of their shoulders and shook them roughly. “Creation, creation, creation, CREATION!” Her grip was much tighter than Marinette expected and she could almost feel the woman’s untrimmed fingernails breaking through her super suit and cutting into her skin. 

“Creation! Vacation! Nation! Station! Hahaha!” She spun around gleefully and when she was facing the heroes again, she offered them plain white t-shirts that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. “White! White! White! It’s always white! Even when I want pink, I get white! I HATE WHITE!” She screamed out of anger suddenly, veins popping on her forehead. But as quickly as it came, the outburst was gone, replaced by a flirtatious expression. “I much prefer black.” She turned her eyes to Chat, biting her lip seductively. She ran her fingers down the side of his face and leaned forward as if going in for a kiss. Chat leaned backwards, suddenly very terrified. 

LB switched her moods instantly again. “BUT! Black is gone. Gone, gone, gone. Gone gone. HA! Gone, fawn, lawn, drawn. OH! Drawing!” LB stepped away as a set of Ladybug-esque wings appeared from nowhere on her back. Both Ladybug and Chat shied away in surprise as LB suddenly began to hover in the air. But instead of attacking them, she shot over to a different part of the room, dropping back to the floor in front of a sewing machine. The machine immediately turned on in her presence and LB hummed gleefully as she began to work.

Overcoming the stupor that LB could _fly,_ Marinette tried to pull her attention back to what was most important. She looked around the room again in an attempt to understand what was happening. “She’s right, though. Everything in here is a version of creation. The plants? The music? The paintings? Even the food. It all had to be created.”

Chat Noir reached down and grabbed her hand, holding on to it for support. He clearly _did not_ feel comfortable around this older LB. “So she’s gone mad with the power of creation?”

Ladybug held her chin as she pondered. “This must be what creation looks like without destruction. The balance has been thrown off. I think she needs her Chat Noir to counteract all of this.”

“But where is her Chat Noir?” Chat’s voice was filled with fear. 

“I-I don’t know, kitty.” She pulled her eyes up and focused on one picture in particular across the room. As if in a trance, Marinette began walking towards it, hardly concerned with where she was stepping. As she got closer, she realized it was a painting of Chat Noir, or two of him. Both Chats were situated in identical positions. They had their backs to each other, their heads bowed downwards and their fist resting over their heart. But there was no color to the painting. It reminded Marinette a lot of the yin and yang symbol. The Chat on the left was a black silhouette in a white background and the Chat on the right was on the opposite. 

Her own voice suddenly spoke directly in Marinette’s ear. “I call it: The Tale of Two Kitties! Get it????” And then LB collapsed in laughter. She fell directly on to the ground, rolling around amongst the plants, clothing and paper that littered the ground, snorting at her own joke. The vines started crawling over her as if in a protective hug. When she finally steadied herself and sat on her knees, she lowered her voice as if imitating Charles Dickens himself. “‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,’” She switched back to her normal voice. “HA! Paradoxes! They’re so....paradoxical! Get it!??”

And then her demeanor changed completely, again. She shifted around and pulled her knees to her chest, hugging herself into a ball and rocking back and forth. “It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times, it was the worst of times. Happiness returned to me after great catastrophe. Catastrophe.” She shot her head up to look at the two younger heroes staring at her. “Help him! Save him! Please, save my kitty!” 

LB fell back down into a fetal position on her side and began sobbing. The sound was gut wrenching, as if there were nothing in the universe that could cure her sadness. It broke Marinette’s heart to hear someone make such a noise and she felt tears pricking at the edge of her own eyes. Against her better judgement, Marinette moved forward and placed a supportive hand on the woman’s arm. “Hey LB, it’s okay. We’re here to help, we promise. We can fix this, but we need something from you, okay?”

LB stopped for a second to look at her younger self in the eyes. She slowly calmed down and accepted help from Ladybug to stand. She looked at Chat again, who flinched slightly. LB held out her hand and a plant grew from her palm. With her other hand, she picked it and handed it to Chat. “Rosemary.” Her eyes locked with his as if she were trying to touch his soul with her words. “Why won’t you remember me, Chaton?” And then she walked away, back over to a different desk in the corner. 

Chat followed her, holding the herb tightly, but not enough to do any damage. He seemed to be in a strange state of shock or disbelief that any of this was happening. “Can you tell us what happened to your Chat Noir? Or where the akuma is?” He stopped moving about three feet away from her, talking at her back. Ladybug strolled up beside him, listening intently. 

“Kaboom,” was the hopeless response. Ladybug shifted slightly in an attempt to see what LB was staring at. It was a framed selfie of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Ladybug was smiling directly to the camera and Chat was planting a kiss on her cheek. In her hands, LB was holding the Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls Marinette had made a few years ago. LB was posing the dolls in the exact same position the duo was. It was cute.

They looked older than Marinette currently was and appeared to be genuinely happy. Ladybug had her hair pulled back into a long ponytail and it looked like her costume was slightly different, having black shoulder pads and the wings Marinette had seen earlier. Chat’s jawline was more defined than the baby-face she was used to and new, green accents were woven through his costume. The frame itself was spotted red and black, exactly like the design of a Lucky Charm. 

Ladybug reached out in an attempt to grab the picture for a closer look before LB stopped her. “DON’T TOUCH THAT!” The woman's voice broke in a shriek as she turned to her younger self. She harshly smacked Marinette’s hand away. Ladybug withdrew from her immediately, pulling her hand to her chest defensively. 

Her instinct was to fight back, expecting LB to make another attack. But the older woman began breathing rapidly, as if she were about to hyperventilate. Her body shifted towards the picture again and once her eyes made contact, her breathing steadied. 

“Is-is that your Lucky Charm to defeat the akuma?” Ladybug tried to calm her heart and speak confidently, but it wasn’t working. 

Instead of responding, LB reached over and plucked a flower off the wall. She pulled it apart whispering, “He loves me not, he loves me not, he loves me not…” as the petals were separated from their core. Once she’d gathered them all in her hand, she weakly tossed the broken flower in the air, muttering “Miraculous Ladybug,” as she did. The familiar phrase seeped out of her vocal cords like venom. The shredded flower just fell to the ground in pieces, scattered amongst the chaos. The three stood in silence for a while.

“My lady, I think we’ve gotten all the information out of her we can.” Ladybug nodded at her partner without looking at him. Her eyes were glued on the figure in front of her. LB slowly sank to her knees, staring into the ground. 

“Happiness - return to me. Return to me. Great Catastrophe. Great catastrophe. Catastrophe...” Her voice broke and she fell into sobs again, covering her face in an attempt to bury the noise. The classical music in the air changed from an upbeat march to a sad, haunting requiem and her plants wrapped around LB again, protecting her from anymore pain or harm. 

Chat grabbed Ladybug’s arm and pulled her towards him. She continued staring at the figure on the ground, physically unable to look away. “Come on, Ladybug. We don’t need to see this anymore.” He practically dragged her out of the room into the hallway. 

The door shut on the scene in the room, leaving LB to her own depression and insanity. Marinette still couldn’t look away from the door, wondering if that was truly the future that awaited her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I drew inspiration for this chapter from multiple places. It's heavily influenced by Owl City's "Hospital Flowers" and "Plant Life." I also referenced Charles Dickens' "The Tale of Two Cities." And finally, LB gives Chat Noir rosemary because in "Hamlet" (S4-A5) when Ophelia hands out flowers she says "There's rosemary, for remembrance; pray you, love, remember." I view this LB as a very Ophelia-esque character so I decided to give a little nod in her direction. 
> 
> .....I really enjoyed writing this.
> 
> Anyway, thank you so much for reading! It means the world to me!
> 
> Edit: Here's some BEAUTIFUL art I commissioned for this chapter from @miiverisan on tumblr. It's just beyond breathtaking so feel free to give the artist some love!
> 
> https://constantconfusion14.tumblr.com/post/630733311549030400


	2. Destructive Insanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note: For those who've read the first chapter before I updated today I added a link to some art I commissioned in the end notes so feel free to check it out. The artist is @miiversian on tumblr and the work is absolutely breathtaking and I just want everyone to know lol. 
> 
> This chapter is heavier on angst than the last one so be prepared for that. 
> 
> Warning: Depictions of violence, mention of child abuse and depictions of madness as well as imagery some may find disturbing. (I just want to be overly cautious with my warnings)

Chat ended up practically carrying Ladybug back on to the roof of the tower. Once he examined their surroundings making sure they were safe, he turned her to look at him. “Hey, Ladybug, stay with me. We’re going to fix all of this, okay? I won’t let you turn into her, I promise.”

Ladybug finally brought her eyes back up to her partner’s. “O-okay. Okay. Let’s do this.”

Chat smiled. “There’s my girl. Now, let’s go find this akuma and bring the object back to LB so she can cure this world.”

“Chat, I don’t think it’s that easy. LB is broken, slowly being overtaken by the power of creation. I don’t know where her Chat Noir is, but what if he’s being consumed by destruction? What if he’s...gone?” Her tone was uncomfortably similar to that of LB’s. 

“Not possible. If future me is anything like current me, I’d never abandon my lady. Not even if the power of destruction itself tried to get in my way.”

Ladybug didn’t look too convinced so he continued on. “Besides, knowing my luck, the akuma probably has future me locked up in a tower or something where I await my daring princess to come rescue me.” He tossed the back of his hand against his forehead dramatically. It earned a chuckle from his partner. “Oh! Maybe I even grew out my long, blonde, flowing locks. Like Rapunzel!”

Ladybug snorted in response to that one and gave him a real smile that extended to her eyes. “Now that’s something I gotta see.” She reached her arms out and Chat gladly accepted the friendly hug. She pulled away a little too soon for his liking. “Regardless, we’re going to need future Chat. But he could be anywh-“

For the second time that day, Ladybug was cut off by a shockingly loud noise. 

An absolutely horrifying sound Adrien could only describe as pure destruction ripped its way through Paris like a cleaver through warm butter. Chat shivered as he listened to the echoes fading away. “I’m assuming we go towards whatever that was,” Ladybug offered. 

“A terrible sound of death? Sounds like a job for us.”

The heroine sighed deeply then and offered her hand to Chat. He took it and held on tightly as she threw her yo-yo to the nearest stronghold. The string pulled taut and they zipped across Paris together. 

They moved towards the noise, but there was no sign of life anywhere. Few monuments remained in the flooded city, narrowing their choices of look out positions. Ladybug finally landed on an inner support beam of the tipped-over Eiffel tower and released Chat. They looked around for a second, not seeing anything. Chat opened his mouth to speak, but never got the chance. 

“Well, well, well. Looks like Bunnix has brought me some new toys! Hopefully I won’t break you as quickly as the others.” A voice like nails on a chalkboard scratched its way through Chat’s ears and he grimaced as he whipped his head towards the noise. 

Immediately he was tackled by a figure clothed in white. He let his defensive instincts take over, shoving the person off him with his legs when his back hit the cold metal of the tower beneath him. The figure flew off but landed gracefully a few feet away. Ladybug gasped and stood frozen where she stood. Chat Noir flipped over and sat with his right knee on the ground and his left leg in a crouch. He pulled out his baton and made eye contact with the figure across from him, ready to fight. 

The baton echoed loudly as it clanged against the metal and fell into the waters below. 

In front of him, was what must’ve been his future self if the cat-themed suit was any indication. But that was where the similarities ended. Everything about him was white, cold or pale. His normally golden hair was the color of starch to the point where looking at it made Adrien shiver. The man’s skin lacked any blood or melanin which left it an unnatural shade. His eyes were as cold and blue as a glacier and reflected no love whatsoever. His pupils were shrunk to the middle of the iris, allowing the blue sclera to take up most of his eye.

What was most disturbing though, was his demeanor. His shoulders were hunched in a slouch and his head hung off at an angle. Piercing fangs were visible as he smiled manically at the younger heroes in front of him. A foam-like drool spilled from his mouth and he spat as he breathed raggedly. 

“Well, it looks like the pussy’s got some _kick_ to him. GET IT?” The white cat gripped his head, his long claws scratching his scalp. He screeched towards the ground in what was either the worst cry or the worst laugh Chat Noir had ever heard in his life. Adrien had never known puns could sound so terrifying. 

“Y-you’re LB’s Chat Noir, aren’t you? From the future? What...what happened?” Ladybug pried slightly, attempting to get any hold of the situation. It was already painfully obvious they were outmatched and unprepared for...whatever _this_ was. 

The future Chat screamed to Ladybug without pulling his eyes from their place on the ground. “Do I look Noir to you?!?” Only then did he look towards the heroine, spitting and smiling as he spoke. “Chat Noir is _dead_. I am Chat Blanc. And I’m going to kill you just as I killed all the others.” He broke down into a horrifying laugh again, making a sound that threatened to rip Adrien’s sanity away from him. 

But then he stopped and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Ladybug, grinning to show off his teeth. “Good bye, Ladybug.” He pulled up his arm and backhanded the heroine in the face with a force that created a sound wave. The girl didn’t even have time to wince as she went flying from her position to a support beam somewhere below. Adrien heard a definitive _thud_ but no sounds followed it. 

“ _LADYBUG!”_ He screamed and lunged to follow her to where she’d fallen. But Chat Blanc appeared in front of him and grabbed his throat, pushing down tightly on his windpipe. Chat Noir’s boots left the ground as the older, corrupted version of himself choked him with one hand. He kicked his legs uselessly and gasped in a failed attempt for air.

Blanc’s grin was suddenly replaced by a calm anger. He pulled his younger self forward so that Adrien could feel the hot breath puffing against his ear with every word. “I. _Hate_. You.” 

Before the little black dots could completely overtake Chat Noir’s vision, his attacker threw his body like it weighed nothing. Adrien tried to angle himself so that he could grab onto a support beam. He was barely successful and slammed into one that hovered just above the water. 

Chat Noir unsuccessfully tried to gather himself as he felt the cool air rush into his deprived lungs. A pair of red feet landed gently beside him and Ladybug was there suddenly, pulling him to his feet. Chat glanced at his partner, seeing a red handprint and claw marks on the left side of her face. Anger coursed through him at their opponent. 

_Nobody_ was allowed to touch Ladybug. _Nobody_ was allowed to _hurt_ Ladybug. But this monster had. Which meant he needed to be stopped. 

A louder clang was heard and Chat Blanc was in front of them again, smiling disturbingly. He crept towards them on all fours, maintaining his deranged look. 

“Chat, please,” Ladybug cried out to him while taking a few steps away. “I don’t know what’s going on, or what happened. But we’ve been sent here to help you. Your Ladybug is in danger and she needs you!”

Blanc’s demeanor changed instantly. He moved with unnatural speed again until he was face to face with Ladybug once more. His voice lowered to almost a whisper and his entire body trembled with anger. “You leave her out of this.” The two heroes held their breath, expecting another attack, but Blanc just grabbed his head and fell to his knees, cackling once more.

Ladybug sent a panicked look to her partner before she made another attempt at diplomacy. Adrien only stared back, still unsure of how to deal with such a situation. “Please, your lady needs you. She misses you and loves you and she wants her Chat Noir back.” 

“ _SHE DOESN’T LOVE ME!”_ Blanc’s voice screamed with anger before he degraded back into his sinister fit of giggles. Adrien was frozen in the face of all of this, unable to fully gain a grip on what exactly was happening before him. He ran his eyes over the scene again and noticed the man’s reflection shimmering in the water. But instead of a mirror image, the reflection was dressed in black with golden hair and lacked the animal characteristics. It looked like a regular human. He looked like an older Adrien. The image in the water gripped its hair just like Chat Blanc. When Blanc looked up, tears of laughter sliding from his eyes, his reflection followed suit. 

But the facial expression was different. The reflection was in pain, crying of agony and sadness. 

_What was going on???_

“She left me because of what I became. She wants the old me back.” Chat Blanc’s laughter finally subsided and he became serious again, looking down at his reflection in disgust. “But that Chat is dead. And so is her love for me.”

Chat Noir’s default was getting under an akuma’s skin. It worked as a distraction to help make their enemies lose control, allowing Ladybug to find a weakness. Maybe that’s why he spoke up now, trying to do what he did best in a situation he had no control over. And although his voice shook, his unfortunate words cut across the air. 

“Woah dude. This is how you deal with a breakup? That’s a little embarrassing. I hope I don’t grow up to be like you.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Adrien wished he’d used the filter he always had enabled outside the suit. He mentally cursed himself for speaking such foolish last words. 

Chat Blanc looked up from his moment of self-pity with nothing but wrath in his blue eyes. In one fluid moment, he pounced on Chat Noir, tackling him to the ground. His white claws wrapped around Adrien’s head and slammed it down into the metal beam beneath them. A sickening _thud_ echoed through the flooded city as Chat Noir’s head came in contact with the steel. Ladybug screamed behind them but there was no way she could have reacted quickly enough. 

It took a moment for Adrien to straighten his thoughts and regain his focus. Unfortunately, the only thing he could focus on was Chat Blanc. The older creature leaned forward so that his unhinged facial expression took up Chat Noir’s vision entirely. He loosened his grip slightly as his temper died down. It was quickly replaced with his sickening laugh and Adrien wasn’t sure which one he hated more. Blanc threw his head back, maintaining his hold on the teen beneath him. 

When he’d finally gotten it out of his system, he whipped his head back down towards Noir. Adrien tried to turn his face to the side in a desperate attempt to protect himself, but Blanc held his head tightly, forcing him to look into his eyes.“You think Ladybug did this to me?” Spit flew out of his mouth onto his prey. He began giggling uncontrollably again, loosening his grip enough for Adrien to squirm out from under him. He scampered over to Ladybug, using her to pull himself to his feet and holding on to her arm tightly as the fallen hero laughed himself further into insanity. 

Through his painful chortling he continued screaming at the younger duo. “Ladybug would never hurt me! It was Father! Of all people! Father broke me!” He finally calmed himself enough to look Chat Noir in the eyes. “You know all the disappointment and neglect? It gets worse!” He screamed with delight. “Turns out no attention is better than bad attention! Imagine, a twenty-one year old getting beaten by his only family! It’s hilarious!” He fell to his side, gripping his stomach as he howled with amusement. 

Adrien’s blood stopped flowing through his veins. His heart stilled and his vision tunneled on the monster in front of them. He strengthened his grip on his partner. “W-what did you say?” his voice barely broke through his lips. Adrien didn’t dare move his eyes to look at Ladybug. He wouldn’t have been able to handle her worried looks and glances. Instead, he stayed perfectly still, frozen in place by the piercing blue eyes. 

“And do you want to hear the best part??” Blanc was still rolling on the ground, barely able to focus on the heroes. He finally stopped and pulled himself to his knees, his hands flat against the metal beneath them. Blanc made direct eye contact with Adrien again as he attempted to speak. Snorts and chuckles threatened to break through as he prepared himself for what seemed to be the punchline of the world’s best joke. “I KILLED HIM! I KILLED THEM ALL! AHA!” 

And he collapsed again, screaming. He might’ve been laughing, but an outside party never would’ve been able to guess. His voice cracked with pain as he shrieked. He grabbed his head again with his hands and slammed it into the metal ground, just as he had done to his younger self. When he came back up, tears streamed down his face but his grin remained. 

Chat Noir took a few steps backwards, utterly terrified of whatever _thing_ was in front of him. Ladybug wrapped her arm around him and threw her yo-yo, pulling the two away from the horrible scene beneath them. They landed on what used to be the bottom of the Eiffel tower, but was now the highest point. The cracked cement acted as a thick balance beam.

As soon as their feet touched, Chat Noir dropped to his knees, hugging himself. Blanc’s laughter could still be heard echoing through the ruins. Adrien moved his hands up and covered his ears in a desperate attempt to block out the agonizing sound. Soon after, he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 

“Hey, Chaton, we’re going to fix this, okay?” Her voice was honey but Adrien wasn’t in the mood for sickly sweetness. He couldn’t think of a decent reply so he remained silent, trying to ignore the words of his future self. 

“I know this is all really screwed up right now, but they need our help. We’re the only hope they have left. And look on the brightside - I think this Chat _is_ the akuma.”  
  
Adrien shot his head up at that. “ _How_ is that the brightside??” He knew the tears in his eyes made him look like a scared toddler, but he couldn’t help it. Ladybug tried to give him a sad smile, but only a look of pity flashed across her face. 

“It really isn’t, it’s just that we found the future Chat Noir and the akuma in one place. All we have to do is de-evilize him and get him to LB. This will all be over soon, okay?”

“She’s lying, kid.” The monster was back. 

Once again, Chat Noir was on his knees in front of his terrible counterpart. But the deranged man had seemingly changed his attitude. The uncontrollable mania had been replaced by an emotionless blank slate. He stood with a straightened posture now, staring directly toward the teens. His frigid eyes still drilled into his victims but the look of absolute indifference caused less fear and more anxiety. 

They were just waiting for him to snap again. 

“It’s not ending soon. It hasn’t even begun. I’d feel sorry for you if this wasn’t your fault.” Chat Blanc’s lackluster expression never wavered. It was unsettling to say the least. 

“Stop this!” Ladybug cried. “Stop blaming yourself. Chat, you’ve been akumatized. Hawkmoth did this to you. None of this is your, or his faults!” As she spoke, Ladybug grew more desperate. Adrien could tell she was becoming less confident at the towering obstacle they faced. Without her partner to lean on, Ladybug was starting to collapse too. 

“Oh yeah, that’s right. I guess I was akumatized.” His right hand played with the bell at the base of his neck. He looked off to the side for a moment and almost sounded sarcastic. “Or, as I like to call it: ‘Forcefully manipulated into the worst version of myself for someone’s personal gain’.” He made a sound like a scoff but his face remained blank. 

Ladybug grabbed onto whatever straws she was grasping at, hoping for anyway to break through to Blanc. “Exactly! Hawkmoth is the real enemy. He’s responsible for all this destruction. He’s responsible for all this death. Hawkmoth is nothing more than a coward who took advantage of you when you were at a low point in your life.”

Chat Blanc scoffed again and this time a smile flashed across his face. The single facial movement triggered more chuckles until his entire face cracked open again in another bout of laughter. Ladybug and Chat Noir retreated closer to each other as they were once again subjected to the noise. 

“Oh, how little you understand! You think you can save me? Nothing can save me!” He was practically pulling his white hair out of his skull when he looked at his younger self. Adrien tried desperately to avoid the eye contact, but it was impossible. Chat Blanc held his attention like a prisoner with stockholm. 

“Nothing can save _you!_ Don’t you _understand??_ ” He was howling again, but something about this fit seemed more painful than the ones from before. Tears ran down his face as his composure crumbled into a pained amusement. “Nothing can stop you from becoming me! Nothing! Nothing, Nothing, NOTHING, _NOTHI-”_

His shrieks suddenly stopped as a yo-yo slammed into his nose. He stumbled backwards, stunned at the sudden attack. Chat Noir turned to see Ladybug somehow standing confidently in her telltale offensive position. She reached over, grabbed her partner under his arm and forcefully hoisted him to his feet. 

“I’ve heard enough of you to last a lifetime. Obviously you’re beyond help like this so we’re going to have to do this the hard way. Now, where’s your _damn_ _akuma_?!?” Her voice sounded like hardened steel, unyielding and lethal. A typical opponent would have surrendered right then and there. 

But Chat Blanc was anything but typical. 

A low, ominous yowl emitted from his throat, growing until it became a full shriek. He snapped his jaw together rapidly, baring his teeth and sending spit flying. It was purely animalistic and Chat had never expected to see a human make such a sound. But this _thing’s_ humanity was gone. Hawkmoth had made sure of that. 

The look of misplaced amusement in his eyes was gone. All that remained was rage and malice. Adrien had never been afraid of an akuma actually killing him until today. Even though Hawkmoth may have created this monster, he had no master anymore. Chat Blanc was his own puppet without strings. There were no consequences to his actions and no limits to what he could and _would_ do to the heroes in front of him. 

It was terrifying. 

But Ladybug’s confidence and sheer will to end this fight rubbed off on her partner. He set his jaw and prepared to get his ass handed to him. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. After all, they were superheroes and Paris’s last line of defense. It was worth another shot. 

Unfortunately, Blanc was capable of moving with the same inhumanity he displayed so freely. Before Noir or Ladybug had the chance to react, the akuma flattened his hand and a disc of blue light appeared from thin air. Like a frisbee, Blanc threw the weaponized form of cataclysm. It flew towards his opponents rapidly, allowing them little time to dodge. 

Ladybug graciously ducked and avoided the attack whereas Chat Noir stumbled and nearly lost his footing on the thin cement beam. Ladybug gasped for her partner’s safety and let her guard down for a single instant before he steadied himself. 

Unfortunately, their enemy noticed and took advantage of the moment of weakness. Blanc slammed into her with unseen force, grabbing her by her tiny throat and lifting her into the air. Her entire body dangled over nothing. Chat Blanc held her effortlessly, seeming to greatly enjoy her panic at the lack of ground beneath her. She choked and grasped fruitlessly as the hand holding her hostage. 

He tilted his head to the side, spitting more as he spoke. “Oh, I’m sorry Ladybug. Does it feel like you’re suffocating? Like you can’t breathe?” He shook her slightly, her face turning blue from the lack of oxygen. “You’ll never know true suffocation like I do. The constant pressures of perfection paired with a household of loveless people watching your every move. _That’s_ suffocation. This is no-“

Chat Noir, finally having a firm stance again, stomped the back of Chat Blanc’s calf in a downward motion, eliciting a sickening _crack._ Blanc collapsed on his side, yowling in pain. He released Ladybug who was sucked into a free fall for a single instant before her partner grabbed her forearm. 

Ladybug dangled from the edge of the Eiffel Tower and breathed raggedly as air hastily flooded her lungs. She held onto Chat Noir like a lifeline. Together, they pulled her back up on solid ground. But there was no time for a break. As soon as both of her spotted feet connected with broken cement, another gasp flew from her lips. 

Like going over the large drop on a rollercoaster, Adrien’s stomach flew into his throat as a growl sounded right in his ear. A white clad arm grabbed his body and held sharp claws tightly against his abdomen. Blanc’s other hand was grasped tightly over Adrien’s mouth, the claws cutting into his cheek. 

Pushed up against Blanc, Adrien could hear a sick purring in his throat. It sounded familiar, which made sense seeing as it was the same person making the same sound. But the familiarity was cold. Adrien didn’t want to recognize this sound as his own. He didn’t want to compare himself in any regard to this monster. 

Chat Blanc was speaking right in Adrien’s ear, sending chills throughout his body. “You little monster. Anything you do to me, I’ll do to you ten times over. Break my leg? I’ll break every bone in your body and make sure you feel each one individually snap. This isn’t some fun akuma attack where you beat me and run back to mathematics class. I’m going to _kill_ you and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Adrien had never thought he would long for maniacal laughter, but he was now. He would take the terrible, horrifying giggle fits over this tone of voice any day. Because he was able to recognize his own voice underneath the layers of absolute chaos. And that voice? That was the one Adrien used when he was dead serious. 

Chat Blanc was going to kill him, here and now. Simply because he wanted to. 

Chat Noir looked out at Ladybug and did his best to send a nonverbal “goodbye” of sorts. Silent tears ran down her face and her hand gripped her yo-yo like it was the only thing tethering her to this horrible reality. He could see her eyes moving frantically, looking for anything they could use to their advantage, but it was clear she was finding nothing. She moved to grab her yo-yo, but Chat Blanc made a _tsking_ sound and tightened his grip on the boy in his arms. Recognizing they were out of options, Adrien simply did his best to light up his eyes for Ladybug’s sake, trying not to look as pathetic as he felt in what were probably his final moments. The fake smile never really bloomed, though. 

A faint tinkling sound broke underneath Blanc’s threats. Adrien moved his eyes and glanced up at the source of it: an all-white bell that hung from the akuma’s neck. But something was wrong. Adrien _knew_ the sound of that bell. It rarely chimed loud enough for others to hear, but it was always singing throughout battles. 

Even now, Adrien’s own bell sounded out. A sweet, smooth signing that greatly contrasted the sound coming from Blanc’s bell. _His_ sound was dead, clattering around without tone or chime. It was different. It was worse. It was _corrupted._

Without allowing time to second guess his hunch, Chat Noir bit down on Blanc’s hand, causing the older man to screech and pull away from the sudden pressure. His grip on Adrien released just enough for the younger hero to seize the opportunity. 

“Cataclysm!” He reached up and grabbed the bell, not even really caring if he missed his target or not. His clawed hand wrapped around the white metal, causing it to decay in an instant, turning to dust in his hand. A tiny black butterfly fluttered out as if it hadn’t just triggered the end of the world. Why was such an evil, corrupted creature allowed to look so peaceful?

As soon as his power diminished, Chat Blanc collapsed to his knees, taking his younger self with him. Ladybug snapped into action suddenly and snatched the insect from the air She released it sadly into the broken sky above them. But unlike the other purified akumas, this one fluttered with a purpose and determinedly flew away as if in search of something, or someone. 

Adrien heard more than saw a black cloud overtake the figure behind him. He wiggled himself free, still not remotely interested in being closer to his older self than he needed to be. Ladybug quickly assisted her partner in standing up, wrapping her arm around his waist. She didn’t speak or even make eye contact, but the simple feeling of her hand resting against his body sent the message clearly: _I’ve got you_. 

Together they cranked their heads back towards their former opponent, fearful in what was awaiting them. Kneeling against the broken cement was a man dressed in all black. Unlike Adrien’s suit, the future version seemed to have a sturdier set of armor plates set against the man’s chest and shoulders. His boots came up to about his knees rather than his ankles and some portions of the costume appeared to be more of a charcoal gray than a pitch black. Adrien’s eyes only briefly glanced at the suit’s changes before he began to focus on the man underneath them all. 

This was him. In just a few years, this man would be Adrien. A man who fell prey to Hawkmoth. A man who let his weaknesses overtake him. A man who single handedly destroyed all of Paris. A man who (accidentally or not) caused pain to Ladybug. A monster of a man. 

The future Chat Noir held his head with his hands as if he were blinking back a monstrous headache. He was still hunched over the cracked cement, his hands splayed out beneath him in order to support his body. His ring blinked weakly, chiming out a familiar sound of a spent transformation. Ladybug and the younger Chat Noir held their breaths as they waited for the man to say something. 

Finally after a short yet endless moment, the man looked up at the younger heroes in front of him. His face was pale, but thankfully not nearly as pallid as Chat Blanc had been. He seemed better but not fully responsive yet. Though, after being akumatized for who knows how long, Adrien supposed there might’ve been some undesirable side effects. Poor Plagg was probably exhausted in the ring. Exhausted and terrified. 

A new sense of anger flowed through Adrien. How _dare_ this man force Plagg to live in. Adrien didn’t want anything to do with this older man. He knew it was unfair to judge a victim of Hawkmoth so harshly, but this was _himself_. Adrien felt shame flood his senses as he looked down on the weak man in front of him.

It wasn’t just anyone who’d been akumatized and destroyed the world. It was _him_. It was Adrien. And that weakness was something that couldn’t be forgiven. 

Against his better judgement, Adrien’s eyes curiously found the matching set in front of him. Aggressively vibrant green eyes locked on the younger, much more innocent version of themselves. The wind died down for a single moment. 

He spoke only a short phrase, but his strength was unwavering. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave thoughts in the comments. The next chapter is going to focus on repairing a lot of the damage that's been done to these poor children.


End file.
